The Cook Book

Delaney and Sophie love to be in the kitchen with me. They are both getting very good at legitimately helping me cook, from stirring to pouring to chopping things with a knife - BOTH of them! Sophie is closely supervised, of course, but Delaney is proficient enough that as long as I know what she is doing, I don't feel like I need to be right next to her anymore.

One day just before Easter, Delaney sat at her table, diligently writing another book. She brought it to me, and was super excited.

"Mom!! I wrote a COOKBOOK!!"

And she certainly had.

" How you make Easter Eggs. Shooger."

"Butter. 3 eggs, four minites. Cook them for four minites then take them out and cool them!"

An apron for cooking.

 After I looked at it and complimented her, she said, "Ok, let's go to the kitchen."

The kitchen?

"Yes! We have to make the recipe now!"

To sound a bit like our favorite writer Dr. Seuss , if your four year old wrote a cookbook, now what would you do?

So off to the kitchen we went.

Delaney found a bowl and a spoon and all the ingredients that her recipe called for. She decided on 2 cups of sugar, 1/4 cup of melted butter and 3 eggs. She put it together all by herself, with the exception of melting the butter, since she isn't quite tall enough to reach the microwave. She had me heat the oven to 200 degrees. She greased a pan, poured her concoction into it and set the timer for 4 minutes.

When the timer went off, it wasn't looking quite how she expected. I explained that sometimes when you try to cook (or write) a new recipe, sometimes you have to adjust the heat and cooking time to get it right. She decided to increase the cooking temperature to 350 degrees, and leave it in the oven for about 20 more minutes.

This was the final result.

She tasted it hot. We put it in the freezer, and she later tasted it cold. She had mixed reviews, but ultimately decided that she is "a total natural at this." ;)

Since then, she has made up a recipe for ranch-filled tomatoes.

Cut the top off of a cherry tomato.

Dig out the seeds with a spoon.

Fill with ranch dressing.

Replace the top and eat. Yummy!

She made her own salad yesterday with lettuce, cucumber, tomato, sweet peppers and carrots.

 As well as a drink made from water and the seeds and a little bit of juice from her tomatoes.

These have been the ideal moments for me to just say "yes" and see what will happen. She has learned a lot about measuring and baking and creativity, trying new tastes and being confident in her experimenting. She is also learning how to handle it when things don't turn out quite the way she expects. I am a little glad that she hasn't requested any taste-testing services yet, though...:D